Interesting Science: The Bermuda Triangle - BBC Video + Info (Part 1)

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The Bermuda Triangle - BBC Video + Info (Part 1)

'The Bermuda Triangle: Beneath the Waves' - An online BBC* Television Documentary which includes a dramatic re-enactment of the disappearance of 'Flight 19' (see the background info below) and appearances by Richard Winer and Phil Beck.

"..Over the last century a thousand ships have been reported lost without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle. Using state-of-the-art technology, we're going to unlock one of the Ocean's deepest secrets. Can science prove if a recently discovered natural phenomenon could be dragging ships down to a watery grave?

..and we'll reveal a new mystery that until now was unexplained. Here, the truth can be far stranger than fiction. There are powerful, some would say evil, forces at work out here. Since 1492 when Christopher Columbus first sailed into the area and saw strange lights in the sky, the list of bizarre disappearences in the Bermuda Triangle has grown. Thousands of ships and planes have simply vanished without a trace.."

Watch the video here:

*Listen here to Quentin Cooper's Material World from The Edinburgh Science Festival (first broadcast Thursday 13 April 2006):

"Gas hydrates are a potentially huge and largely untapped source of energy, but they could also be a huge environmental threat as a source of greenhouse gases, a cause of tsunamis and possibly the cause of the strange disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle." (Relevant section begins 16 minutes into the program). [Methane]

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The following information is courtesy of the US Naval Historical Center:

1) Bermuda Triangle Fact Sheet (This post)
2) History of USS Cyclops + Images (This post)

"The Bermuda Triangle - BBC Video + Info (Part 2)" contains:

3) The Loss Of Flight 19
4) "Lost Patrol"

"The Bermuda Triangle - BBC Video + Info (Part 3)" contains:

5) In Search of.. The Bermuda Triangle (Video - Leonard Nimoy)
6) "Exorcizing the Devil's Triangle"

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1) Bermuda Triangle Fact Sheet

Prepared by the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters and the Naval Historical Center

The U. S. Board of Geographic Names does not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as an official name and does not maintain an official file on the area.

The "Bermuda or Devil's Triangle" is an imaginary area located off the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States, which is noted for a high incidence of unexplained losses of ships, small boats, and aircraft. The apexes of the triangle are generally accepted to be Bermuda, Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In the past, extensive, but futile Coast Guard searches prompted by search and rescue cases such as the disappearance of a flight of five TBM Avengers shortly after take off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida ('Flight 19' - see Part 2), or the traceless sinking of USS Cyclops* and Marine Sulphur Queen (2001 Dive Report) have lent credence to the popular belief in the mystery and the supernatural qualities of the "Bermuda Triangle."

Countless theories attempting to explain the many disappearances have been offered throughout the history of the area. The most practical seem to be environmental and those citing human error. The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features. First, the "Devil's Triangle" is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble.

An area called the "Devil's Sea" by Japanese and Filipino seamen, located off the east coast of Japan, also exhibits the same magnetic characteristics. It is also known for its mysterious disappearances.

Another environmental factor is the character of the Gulf Stream. It is extremely swift and turbulent and can quickly erase any evidence of a disaster. The unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic weather pattern also plays its role. Sudden local thunder storms and water spouts often spell disaster for pilots and mariners. Finally, the topography of the ocean/sea- floor varies from extensive shoals around the islands to some of the deepest marine trenches in the world. With the interaction of the strong currents over the many reefs the topography is in a state of constant flux and development of new navigational hazards is swift.

Not to be under estimated is the human error factor. A large number of pleasure boats travel the waters between Florida's Gold Coast and the Bahamas. All too often, crossings are attempted with too small a boat, insufficient knowledge of the area's hazards, and a lack of good seamanship.

The Coast Guard is not impressed with supernatural explanations of disasters at sea. It has been their experience that the combined forces of nature and unpredictability of mankind outdo even the most far fetched science fiction many times each year.

We know of no maps that delineate the boundaries of the Bermuda Triangle. However, there are general area maps available through the Distribution Control Department, U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, Washington, D.C. 20390. Of particular interest to students if mysterious happenings may be the "Aeromagnetic Charts of the U.S. Coastal Region," H.O. Series 17507, 15 sheets. Numbers 9 through 15 cover the "Bermuda Triangle."

Interest in the "Bermuda Triangle" can be traced to

(A) the cover article in the August 1968 Argosy, "The Spreading Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle",

(B) the answer to a letter to the editor of the January 1969 Playboy, and

Also, many newspapers carried a December 22, 1967 National Geographic Society news release which was derived largely from Vincent Gaddis' Invisible Horizons: True Mysteries of the Sea (Chilton Books, Philadelphia, 1965. OCLC# 681276)

Chapter 13, "The Triangle of Death", in Mr. Gaddis' book, presents the most comprehensive account of the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. Gaddis describes nine of the more intriguing mysteries and provides copious notes and references. Much of the chapter is reprinted from an article by Mr. Gaddis, "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle", in the February 1964 Argosy.

The article elicited a large and enthusiastic response from the magazine's readers. Perhaps the most interesting letter, which appeared in the May 1964 Argosy's "Back Talk" section, recounts a mysterious and frightening incident in an aircraft flying over the area in 1944.

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2) History of USS Cyclops + Images

The ironclad steamer Kickapoo** carried the name Cyclops from 15 June to 10 August 1869, then was renamed Kewaydin.

The second Cyclops, a collier*, was launched 7 May 1910 by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pa., and placed in service 7 November 1910, G. W. Worley, Master, Navy Auxiliary Service, in charge. Operating with the Naval Auxiliary Service, Atlantic Fleet, the collier voyaged in the Baltic during May to July 1911 to supply 2d Division ships. Returning to Norfolk, she operated on the east coast from Newport to the Caribbean servicing the fleet. During the troubled conditions in Mexico in 1914 and 1915, she coaled ships on patrol there and received the thanks of the State Department for cooperation in bringing refugees from Tampico to New Orleans.

With American entry into World War I, Cyclops was commissioned 1 May l917, Lieutenant Commander G. W. Worley in command. She joined a convoy for St. Nazaire, France, in June 1917, returning to the east coast in July. Except for a voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia, she served along the east coast until 9 January 1918 when she was assigned to Naval Overseas Transportation Service. She then sailed to Brazilian waters to fuel British ships in the south Atlantic, receiving the thanks of the State Department and Commander-in-Chief, Pacific. She put to sea from Rio de Janiero 16 February 1918 and after touching at Barbados on 3 and 4 March, was never heard from again. Her loss with all 306 crew and passengers, without a trace, is one of the sea's unsolved mysteries.

*Collier: full load displacement 19,360; length 542'; beam 65'; draft 27'8"; speed 15 knots.; complement 236

USS Cyclops (1910-1918)

Photographed by the New York Navy Yard, probably while anchored in the Hudson River, NY, on 3 October 1911.

Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

USS South Carolina (BB-26) and USS Cyclops (1910-1918)

Engaged in an experimental coaling while under way at sea in 1914. Rigging between the two ships was used to transfer two 800-pound bags of coal at a time. The bags were landed on a platform in front of the battleship's forward 12-inch gun turret, and then carried to the bunkers.
The donor, who served as a seaman in South Carolina at the time, comments: "it showed that this was possible but a very slow method of refueling. Nothing was heard of the test afterwards."

Donation of Earle F. Brookins, Jamestown, NY, 1972.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Roy Stuart Merriam,
Coxwain, U.S. Navy

Who was lost with USS Cyclops in March 1918.
His cap band is from USS San Diego (ACR-6).

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Earnest Randolph Crammer,
Seaman, U.S. Navy

Who was lost with USS Cyclops in March 1918.
His cap band is from that ship.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

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**USS Kickapoo, a 1300-ton Milwaukee class double-turret ironclad river monitor, was built at Carondelet, Missouri, and commissioned in July 1864. She served off the mouth of the Red River, Louisiana, until October, when she was assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. Kickapoo was then sent to Mobile Bay, Alabama, to support the campaign against the city of Mobile. She took part in mine clearance and bombardment operations in the spring of 1865, helping to rescue crewmen from the monitors Milwaukee and Osage when they were sunk by Confederate mines. In June 1865, Kickapoo went to New Orleans, where she was decommissioned in July. She was twice renamed in 1869, becoming Cyclops in June and Kewaydin in August. The ship was sold in September 1874.

USS Kickapoo (1864-1874)

Color lithograph by J.H. Bufford after an original drawing by William Jefferson, circa 1864. It is entitled "The United Stated Iron Clad Monitor 'Kickapoo' of the Miss. Squadron. David G. Woods, Commanding, Sept. 1864" and is dedicated to Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter by William Jefferson.

Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

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Interesting Science

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The Bermuda Triangle - BBC Video + Info (Part 1)

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